


Phury's Chosen

by eclairz1



Category: Black Dagger Brotherhood - J. R. Ward
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, F/M, Romance, Supernatural Elements, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-06-01 12:30:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15143138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eclairz1/pseuds/eclairz1
Summary: A human female gets entwined in the world of vampires. Phury is attracted to her in a way he knows he shouldn't be. Especially with Bella and Cormia around.When battles rage endangering them all. Who will fight? And why?A story of love, strength, and intelligence to help Phury find the female he deserves.





	1. Chapter 1

**Zero Sum**

  **Downtown Caldwell.**

The music throbbed in the pit of the club, humans, and vampires danced with each other in a drug and alcohol-fueled crazed frenzy. The lights dulled the senses of both, turning on those with appetites for sex or trouble. Nights like this were common in this club, run tightly by the aristocratic vampire Rehvenge AKA the Rehverend.  The Brothers frequented ZeroSum because Rehvenge stocked all that they needed, the Grey Goose, The Lagavulin, and most importantly – the Red smoke that Phury favored.

The three Brothers watched the night unfold from their booth, it was a weeknight, the crowd fun but not large. Vishous, Butch, and Phury had come in early today, before the usual midnight. Vishous was wound like a cannon waiting to go off, but the other two brothers knew that when it went off, it would be in a precise, calculated direction.

"What gives my man?" Butch asked, usually he could read V like a book. The goateed brother's shoulders were tense and he did not touch the Grey Goose he ordered.

The two of them were tight, and a lot could be said between them without needing words. Ever since V had met Doc Jane and Butch married Marissa, they didn't come here as much as they used to. They also didn't have a reason to come here as often. He knew Phury needed to make the trip on a regular basis to get his favorite Red Smoke and made the trip with Phury knowing what it felt like to need to numb your brain.

"We are waiting for someone," V told the other two, eyes scanning the room continuously. Butch understood that this someone was not someone they met before because if they had a scent, they didn't need to use their eyes to scan the room.  "Give us some background. What do we need to know?" He asked V, he used to be a cop in the human world before he joined the Black Dagger Brotherhood as a vampire.

"I found something in my recon work I run on the internet. A Computational Biologist is cracking human DNA codes and predicting evolutionary models with a great accuracy. On the dark web, I found that this research of hers has the power to code the DNAs of all the species if she can get a preliminary sample."

"A scientist? Who researches evolution? What does that have to do with us?" Phury asked. He understood science and tried to keep up to date with the world around them, he was not as tech savvy as V but understood the basics of what the Brother was telling him.

"So, if she gets her hands on one vampire's DNA she can predict all of ours," V told him, eyes still scanning the club.

Phury looked up at him, surely, after centuries of being hidden, one lab scientist could not expose the secrets of their race so easily.

"Then, we wipe her mind, true?" Butch asked, thinking the same as Phury.

"We could, yes, in theory. But, her research is all uploaded to the cloud, she doesn't keep it on her. I tried to hack her systems a couple of days ago and got some of the information, but I need her to decrypt it. So, even if I wiped her mind, she still has her tools to reformulate later. I thought about killing her but then all these pieces of the puzzle are just floating around for someone else to put it together. And we need her to decrypt whatever she already found to destroy it. We need to find her, persuade her to lead me to the research, delete all her work and then wipe her mind."

"Is this all truly worth it? What are the chances that she would be looking for us?" Phury asked.

“She might not be looking but she could find us on accident or worse, someone who is looking for us can find her. I just don’t like having loose ends” V replied.

Phury and Butch both understood that the fate of their race depended on the Brotherhood. Now, more than ever, with the Omega trying to find a way to beat Butch or acquire him. There would be no loose ends for the brothers.

So its pretty simple, Phury thought to himself. Find this scientist, get her alone, use her mind to unlock the key to her work, once they get the work, they would destroy it, wipe the human female’s mind and this would all be over. He could go back to smoking his red smoke and ignoring his responsibilities of being the Primale for the entire race. That would be perfect.

He scanned the writhing and whirling shapes for a lady who could be the cause of all their problems tonight. His vampire senses honing in and picking up parts of the conversations. It would be much easier if they could just use Rehv’s camera’s and security team to keep their eye’s out for this human, but he knew it was best to keep the Brotherhood’s work under wraps to protect the civilian population. His body was itching for action, lately, he was just itching in general. He looked for a middle age female, who might look out of place in the drug and alcohol fueled frenzy that was ZeroSum.

He scanned the club further, peering into the darker corners from his vantage spot in the VIP section. A small redheaded human female walked into the section after flashing an AmEx Black card, she took a table right across theirs, and looked at their phone, she was young and dressed in tight and fashionable club clothes, and soon lost his interest. He kept his eyes on the lookout just like Butch and V. Suddenly V flashed them a look. He whispered keeping his voice low.

“Shit, she is here, at the table across. She looks just like she did in my vision”

Phury was surprised, V had a vision about a human female? What was it and why was this the first time he was hearing about that part? How did she slip past him? A scientist human female should have been easy to spot. Phury looked in the direction that V pointed in out of the corner of his eye.

The female he noticed before was now joined by another female, this new friend was the opposite of the redhead who had been at the table. Long tan legs folded as she sat down, her ass covered by a swatch of shining tight material that wrapped around her curvaceous hips. She was tall for a human female, maybe 5’9” or 5’10”, her heels giving her another two or three inches. Her torso was long and lean, Phury’s eyes traveled further up, the long waist clad in a black silk shirt that contrasted the tight skirt by being loose ended at the nape of her neck, slim and dainty, the face though that was the killer. The skin was dark, Phury could not place her ethnicity but she had mocha skin, a bow-shaped mouth that was the color of dark red wine pulled into an easy smile, a small button nose gave her a youthful look, but the dark eyes were quick and observant. Her thick black hair was up in a bun and pulled back from her face. She wore no jewelry and carried a small purse and a phone.

 

  


Phury never truly cared for females. He was a celibate, but for the first time in a long time, he felt the hunger for a female in his body. Only Bella made him feel this way, he thought guiltily as he fidgeted with the glass in front of him. Only Bella, his twin’s _Shellan_ , the expecting mother of Zsadist’s young was the only one he found attractive. Cormia popped into his mind right after that, the Chosen who would be his first mate, walking the hallways of the Brotherhood’s mansion like an ephemeral dream. Both the women who were in his life and on his mind couldn’t keep him from looking again at the human across the tables from him with curiosity.

He glanced again, this time eyes straining for more, she was young, in her late twenties maybe? Her body was fit, and her hands, with long delicate fingers, were gripping the table as she leaned forward to talk with her friend. She looked tense, shoulders and back straight and kept her long feet crossed at the ankles of her black strappy boots.

 

“Are you sure? She doesn’t look like what we discussed” Butch asked mirroring Phury’s thoughts.

“That’s her, Lilah.  Went to some of the most leading Ivy League schools, now a doctoral candidate at U Chicago. Famous, elusive, computational biologist. She is on the 30 under 30 list.” None of this mattered to Phury but he knew the Cop understood all of these human details.

They got quiet as Lilah opened her mouth again, she kept her voice quiet, using the music to quickly talk with her friend. Phury understood why she had chosen this place, whatever or whoever she was stressed about would not think about her coming to a massive nightclub in Caldwell, even if they were here, they couldn’t hear what she was saying over the music. ZeroSum was camouflage.

 

“Where is Matt?” Lilah asked her other friend, the other girl was attractive too, shocking red hair cut close to her scalp, with big blue eyes and a round face. All of that paled in Lilah’s golden glory.

“He is on his way, texted and said it might take a while. You need to relax a little bit.” She quickly signaled to the waitress and asked for a round of Kamikaze shots.

“Jesus Jen, what about quick and discreet meant Kamikaze shots to you?” Lilah asked her friend.

“Don’t be a buzzkill, Lilah, if everything you told me already is true then this is going to be a shit show and I don’t know if I can deal with all of this without some alcohol?” Jen told Lilah laughing.

The brothers could hear every word they were saying, Phury knew that V and the Cop could hear them too. He wondered they meant when they said that this was going to be a shit show.

Lilah groaned and rolled her eyes at her friend.

“Fine, whatever, let's do shots but I need you to listen to this carefully, in case I don’t get to meet Matt tonight, I need you to know everything.”

They both leaned closer. Phury got the feeling that they knew each other’s secrets. What was the human term? Best friends?

“Okay, so three days ago for the first time, my server was hacked, not once but twice, it was a brute force attack, whoever did it knew what they were doing and opened a quick gateway for someone else to get into it as well. Two separate sources stole 40% of the data but it's all encrypted and only Henry can decrypt it. They would need Henry to get to the actual information. I tried to trace back the two parties who stole my stuff, both are here in Caldwell that is why I came here. I needed to find out more. The first hacker, the one who actually cracked my code, I couldn’t get into his system, no matter how much I try I cannot figure who and why but the second one, I could get backdoor entry into that system, it was some freaky organization, looked like it’s a private group of some sort. I have a bad feeling that they are linked to my old friend, Kirsch.”

“Fuck” was all Jen replied with.

Lilah threw her head back and groaned more, Phury’s eyes locked on her long neck, angled back, skin looked so smooth and soft.

“So here is the plan, you and Matt try to learn more about the second hacker, I will email all the details I have, don’t approach, don’t leave traces, I just need to know one thing, are they linked to Edmond Kirsch? I will try to get into the first hacker’s systems. I will also work on securing my server more, I hate that someone got into it in spite of all my security. That is not good for me or Henry.”

 

They both got quiet as the waitress came back with two rounds of shots.

 

“Compliments of the gentlemen at the bar.” she told them. Lilah quickly glanced at the guy the waitress pointed to, he was human as well, and the brothers could smell it. He looked like Rhage, all Hollywood handsome and great clothes. His face dropped momentarily when he noticed that Lilah didn’t smile or acknowledge him in any way.

“Okay, now that you have spilled your guts, can you please relax? Matt and I got this, you know we do and if it is Ed or his guys, this time we will be careful. They won’t know what hit them. Can we please relax and have one fun night before we go AWOL? I know we probably won’t see each other again for a while or even hear each other’s voices” Jen begged her friend.

“You’re right.” Lilah sighed, letting her shoulders drop down for the first time. “I am going to disappear for a few weeks until I figure all of this out. We should have fun”

“So, don’t look right now but the table across with the three insanely good-looking dudes is def into you,” Jen informed her.

Phury felt V and Butch stiffen up next to him. He didn’t realize that Jen had noticed them, he was too busy watching Lilah.

“JEN!! No guys! I thought you meant dancing.”

“Sure! Let’s dance! You can dance with a guy!” Jen retorted. This was obviously not the first time they were arguing about this.

V met my eye. “Okay, now that they know we were watching, let's go over there and try to get Lilah alone. It’ll be too messy if try to do this with both the humans.” Before Butch and Phury could stop him, he slid out of our booth and slowly approached the bar for drinks. Phury understood his MO, V was going to get drinks for everyone, walk over to Lilah’s table and make small talk, once she was pliable enough, V or Butch would pretend to go home with her and get her alone. Poor Lilah would never know what hit her.

An irritating anger pang shot up in Phury’s head. Argh, did she really deserve this? Her hard work would be lost and V was not going to be gentle with her. Body or mind. He shook his head, trying to shake off the feeling. He shouldn’t care about how V deals with her he told himself even as he felt tormented by how her quiet and easy beauty would be subjected to V’s cruel and harsh ways. V would be easy on her, after all, she was a female, a human female. Phury tried to comfort himself.

“I think they are headed here! All three of them. Quick pick one” Jen whispered to Lilah.

Lilah refused to look up from her phone, “NONE” she told her friend sternly.

“Okay Lee, I feel like you are not understanding this situation. Three extremely sexy guys are walking towards us, you are going to pick one and you are going to dance with him, if you like him, you can dust the cobwebs around your hoo-ha and take him home because you can forget human contact or comfort for the next two or three months. Now look hard and pick one, Look the tall one has a goatee, imagine how that would tickle” Jen whispered excitedly.

Phury knew females found them attractive, coming to ZeroSum often meant that they were all subjected to listening to females unassumingly say something about the brothers but Jen’s words struck Phury oddly. What if Lilah did pick V?

Lilah shook her head, “He has face tattoos, no thanks”

“Fine, the other one looks like a Catalogue Model for Nordstrom. Just the way you like it classy and chill.”

“No, he looks too serious and he has a wedding band”

Butch snorted into his drink he just picked up. “I don’t look too serious”.

The cop did wear a human wedding band, old habits Phury guessed. None of this stopped V from walking over to their table with the brothers in tow.

“Hello Ladies, we brought over some drinks” he announced, drawing his words, obviously laying it on thick. Jen immediately jumped into action. She quickly introduced herself, Lilah, and moved to the center of the table to make space for us.

V introduced himself as just V, and Butch as Brian and then he looked around and his eyes had an odd glow as they landed on Phury.

“Lilah, have you met Phil?” God V! Did I look like a Phil? Phury wondered.

Slowly, Lilah turned her head to look at him as Phury eased onto the bench right next to her. Dark eyes locked on his, she tilted her head up as though she was laughing at a private joke in her head, and she smiled at him but didn’t offer her hand, unlike her friend.

He knew he was smiling back even though he had no idea why. As he watched her laugh and move with slow and lazy ease, he had an irrational urge to touch her, to trace the skin on the back of her hands, the black silk came down to her wrists.  He looked up at her and saw that she was watching him stare at her. Dammnit. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phury ends up in a tricky situation as the night comes to an end.

**Chapter 2:**

Phury watched the female out of the corner of his eye. She was right next to him and sat without moving at all. Vishous kept the shots coming, alcohol and drugs didn’t affect vampires the way they affected humans. He could see the Jen was buzzing but kept his eyes on Lilah, for the all the right reasons is what he told himself.

He noticed more of her now, the long legs folded and crossed at the ankles under the table, left hand resting on her lap, long dainty fingers absently stroking the outside of her thigh, her chest rose and fell with a soft rhythm, raising up her black silk shirt that parted right over her breasts and the skin the etched down in to the valley looking tantalizingly soft. Phury was being careful with his observations, he didn’t want to scare the human away. He looked at her face again and felt the pull he had felt earlier, the deep red mouth was animated, pulling in different ways as she spoke, eyes quick to move to as they caught the dim lights in the club.

Vishous kept the conversation, intelligent, cultured and clever, Butch didn’t pull any punches as he made the ladies laugh, Phury suddenly realized that he hadn’t said anything until now, not one word. Suddenly, the desire to turn her face towards him and talk to her overcame him. He took a deep breath, no. bad idea. Talk to her like a human male would he told himself.

He waited until the conversation died down as the waitress brought more drinks, “So what do you do?” He asked her, hoping that she would tell him the truth.

“Oh, nothing as exciting as you guys, I’m just a doctoral student at U Chicago.” He frowned and tried to quickly recall that V had introduced them as guys from the army. It wasn’t a lie.

“That sounds interesting! What brings you to Caldwell?”

“Well, I’m just here temporarily, for a project. Also taking a break from life at the University” She told him, so he knew that she was playing safe as well but that didn’t ease his guilt about lying to her.

“So how do you like it so far?” Keep it casual, keep it simple Phury he told himself.

“It’s not bad, I am not getting anywhere on my project though” She sounded frustrated.

V interrupted their conversation with more shots. This was round 8 for her. The conversation followed smoother now, they talked about science, technology, travel, and she listened and asked all the right questions. Her friend Jen seemed to be interested in V but didn’t make any direct moves. Jen told some stories about how she met Lilah at Harvard and some travel stories of them that had the table laughing.

Phury forgot how different their lives were for a minute, he laughed with them, enjoying the humor and spontaneity of the conversation, the twists and turns it took, both the human females companionable but Lilah was breathtaking, he wondered what her hair was like, what her legs would look like without the tight skirt, would the skin be soft and silky to touch?

His thoughts were rudely broken when Jen asked if Lilah wanted to dance.

“Would you hate me if I went home? I’ve had a long day and I can hear my bed calling my name.” Lilah told her not meeting the other female’s eyes.

“Noooo! Stop being such a buzzkill Lee! It's not even midnight! One dance, please? One dance and we will all go home! I promise”

“No. Please!”

“Are you scared that you’re losing touch, Lee?” Jen asked sticking her tongue out.

“Okay, one dance but after that, I am going home. I’ll probably have to Uber home and get my car tomorrow. I feel like all that vodka went straight to my head.”

“One last shot then, to end the night?” V asked them, he looked at Lilah, Phury knew that V was reaching into her mind to make her agree but a minute passed and it didn’t happen. Phury quickly focused on Jen, it was easy to reach into her mind and put the idea in place.

Jen shook her head enthusiastically. “Yes! Last shot! Bottoms UP!!!” she called loudly.

Lilah lifted her 9th shot that night, the small glass touching her lips, she threw her head back, Phury’s eyes locked on her neck as his need to touch her skin shot through him. He quickly took his own shot hoping that while it wouldn’t get him drunk, it should at least dull this new interest in a human female.

“You guys want to dance?” Jen asked.

V and Butch shook their heads saying no. Phury joined quickly. They would wait here, silently willing any males who approached the two females to step away.

He watched silently as Jen dragged Lilah to the center of the floor, the music had picked up and was now rocking current hits. The floor was packed and men eyed the two ladies who broke into obviously practiced moves. The song that had been rocking the clubs all over town came on and the two females looked at each other, a slow, sexy smile bloomed on their faces as they moved expertly to Despacito. The people around them noticed, some of them stopped dancing and watched with their mouths ajar, some females threw a look and moved harder to impress the males they were dancing with. Jen and Lilah danced around and with each other, leaving no place for a third body to break into the close circle they formed around each other. Their eyes were locked and hip and legs moved in perfect sync.

It was mesmerizing. Phury wondered if this flexibility could convert into something fantastic in the bedroom. Would those long legs, curvy ass, and slender waist move the same way under him?

“Scientist has moves” Butch commented breaking his line of thoughts.

“She has many different types of moves but the good thing is she is drunk and she is going to make this easy for us.” V answered.  Vishous eyed Phury, his brother was giving off some hot vibes for a celibate. V wanted to push Phury a little more to see what happened. He understood the need for the red smoke and understood the addiction but things were getting too far with Phury. He heard from Wrath about the carving the lessers and on an odd occasion, he could hear Phury’s raging thoughts about Bella.   


The song ended before the conversation between the brothers.

The two females walked back to grab their purses. V took assessed the moment and quickly took the chance.

“It was nice meeting you ladies.” He murmured locking eyes with Jen.

“We are going to head out as well, does anyone need a ride?” Butch asked innocently.

Phury was relieved, he wanted to go home and to his red smoke, he wanted to lay in bed and draw Bella as he smoked a big fat roll and listened to music he liked. But, suddenly glancing at Lilah he felt like that is not what he wanted. He wanted to see more of this human female. He wondered what the loose blouse was hiding. What would her breasts look like without it?

“Sure, I could use a ride, also Lilah, you shouldn’t be driving.” Jen replied. Obviously, the Vishuos was successful in getting her to say what he carefully crafted.

“Phil can drive you home Lilah, we can take Jen” Butch eased it into the conversation casually.

Lilah’s eyes were half closed, she looked from Butch to Phury. Thought for a full minute and then nodded.

“Let's go?” she asked him stepping closer to him.

He nodded quietly, torn between her and his desire to be alone and obsess about Bella. Duty and curiosity took over as he silently led the way out.

She dug into her purse and handed him a key with a Merc key fob and pointed at the parking lot across the street. He wondered if he should take her hand but she seemed steady on her feet, moving in her black strappy heels without much effort. They crossed the street and entered the parking lot.

Phury hit the unlock button on the fob and a silver G-Class chimed in tune.  He wondered why a lab scientist needed a car like this. He opened the passenger door for out of habit when she flashed him a happy smile that indicated that the vodka hit the spot and that she was in a good mood, he felt better.

He would drive to her home, go upstairs, alone in her apartment, he would get the decoding key for the data V had stolen from her, he would send the rest of her research to V, make her delete all her research and wipe her mind clean and then give her an idea for a hard reset. Somewhere far away. This was the least disruptive option for her he told himself.

He ran over to the driver’s side and slid in easily. The car was primed well, Lilah or someone took care of it he noted dully.  The miles on the dashboard indicated that she used it a lot.

“It’s a treat if you want to off-road” she whispered from her seat, she was leaning back, eyes closed. Her legs were apart and hands limp in her lap. She didn’t close her mouth completely after the last word. Her lips were slightly apart as she arched her back, stretching. Her chest and middle rose in a magnificent arc from the seat back with her head as the only connection between the seat and her body waist up. A low moan erupted from her lips as she stretched. Phury felt his thighs tighten from the sound and couldn’t stop staring.

Erotic images washed Phury’s mind. Is this what she would look like if she was in his lap and he was buried inside her? Would she move like this and moan like that? Fuck. He didn’t need this now. He needed to get done with this human female and get home. The jitters of not having his red smoke were making him jumpy.

He kept his thoughts light on the drive home. Thought about how much more Red Smoke he had left before he needed to go back for more. He heard the window on Lilah’s side roll down, the pleasant late summer air hitting his body, he glanced briefly again. She hadn’t moved much, eyes were still closed, but her hands, her hands were now drawing lazy circles on her thighs again.

 

Red smoke. Think about the red smoke he told himself. When the drive ended, he felt relieved. He wanted this to end. He didn’t remember the last time he was so enthralled by a female outside of Bella and this was not a complication he needed right now.

He quickly came around to open her car door but realized that she was not awake anymore. The car’s GPS had her apartment number. Fourth floor.

He unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled her out. Against his chest, she felt entirely different, the easy sexuality she gave off so easily was now gone, gentle wisps of hair from her bun floated around her face and her head rolled to his shoulder. Her smell was something else, under the smell of smoke and alcohol from the club, he could smell a fresh, clean, flowery scent, he pulled her closer to his body and sniffed her hair, jasmine, that was her smell.

Phury scaled the four floors with ease. The sleeping female in his arms didn’t wake even when he stopped in front of the door. He pulled her up to his chest with one arm and dug in her purse for her keys and found none. Cursing he contemplated kick the door down, then he noticed the knob, there was no keyhole. He recognized the new technology and took out her phone and used her finger to unlock the phone, then hit door icon was on the first screen.

 

He kicked the door open gently and entered the house and the lights came on automatically, they were bright and everywhere. The door clicked and locked behind him. He moved quickly, walking through her apartment trying to find her bedroom. He could probe her mind while she slept, that would actually make it easy and feel less intrusive.

He saw the airy living room with comfortable looking furniture and a large screen TV, an Xbox One X sat hooked and ready to go on the tables, a large open kitchen with the shining stainless-steel products and enough fruit to play fruit ninja in real life, the big balcony with a sturdy fire escape, an office with massive computer screens hooked to the walls with a long 6-foot tables on both sides of the room. One contained all electronics linked to the computers and the other had microscopes and biology lab equipment. The computer dashboard looked massive and dwarfed the room.

He walked further down finally finding the bedroom, it was decorated with whimsical art and fabrics, all in pastels and gold, looking like a unicorn cave. Of course, she would have such contrasting tastes. He walked over her white shaggy rug and bent to lower her down to the pastel yellow comforter.

As soon as he eased her down and tried to stand up, her hands snaked around his neck, pulling him closer, soft breasts pressed against his shirt. He lost balance from the sudden contact and stumbled. She let go and stirred.

Phury steadied himself, arm against the wall and looked down to see that the dark eyes were now blinking, taking in the room, the ceiling and finally him. Phury realized then that no one had touched him like this in a long time. He had taken a vow of celibacy right after his transition. The one attempt to lose his virginity to a whore had left him scarred and unwilling to try anything else. He usually did not think about females and definitely did not go about touching them.

“Phil, thank you for bringing me home” she mumbled. Sitting up from her bed slowly.

“Not a problem, you should go back to bed.”

“I cannot sleep in these stupid clothes. Gimme a min” She swung her legs off the side of the high bed, Phury found himself watching her again. She grumbled as she kicked off her shoes into a corner of the room, the black contrasting with all the pastels and stalked over to the closet, bending over, she found a cotton sleep shirt.

Phury didn’t stop watching her ass until it disappeared from the room. He shook his head. Too high strung and letting a human female bother him, what had life come to? He wondered. He heard the shower turn on and wondered how long before she would be back and was surprised when it turned off in a few minutes. Efficient.

He stopped thinking when she walked back in, clad in a pink and white striped cotton sleep shirt with buttons down the front, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows if there was any makeup it was gone now but she didn’t look much different, same dark eyes and same full mouth.

She walked towards him smiling, her hands reached behind her head and pulled out the clip holding her hair in place.

Phury could not blink. Long dark, black waves cascaded down to her firm ass. The copper highlights few but enough to make her hair look like a magazine rendering. The soft wisps now crowded hair face, flowing freely down her shoulders and making her look younger than she already did. She shook her head again, settling her hair behind her back. She smiled as she walked forward towards him.

 

 

Phury noticed more, she was barefoot, toes painted in delightful yellow, the skin on her legs was glowing in the lights, the dark tones of her skin looking like they were gold as she moved.

"Again, I apologize for conking out on your like that. I am usually pretty decent with alcohol."

"Its no trouble at all." He wanted to laugh at her. She had 8 shots of Vodka and took it like a tank. He was impressed that she was not in the bathroom, throwing up.

"I've had a long day, I think it got to me."

"Would you like to go to bed? That might help" Phury smiled

The female stopped, trying to assess the situation. Phury suddenly understood her hesitation.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean anything by that, I thought sleep might help you" He explained. Yeah, much better answer than I cannot have sex with you because I am a celibate who is supposed to impregnate forty women but choose not to because I might have feelings for my twin's wife.

 

"Thank god. I am not exactly.... umm..I know this is stupid and you are probably wondering why you are here. But I am not looking to have sex" She almost whispered. Looking at everything but him.

He sighed, he could easily will her to stop if the situation came to it but he didn’t have enough patience in him today to deal with a thirsty female who wanted to get under his clothes. He was glad that Lilah didn’t eye him like most of the females he met or make any moves to get under his clothes. He just needed her to sleep so that he could get what he wanted and leave. He should just will her to sleep now.

He nodded, “Yeah me too. Maybe we can just call it a night?”. He was getting used to looking at her dark eyes now. The color, almost black, no longer shocked him.

She smiled as she stepped closer. He realized with interest that she was not gawking at him, he would be able to smell her arousal and catch the interest in her eyes. She was relaxed and at ease.

“Would you like a bite before that? I am famished.”

Phury hesitated, food sounded good but he didn’t really need it now.

“I’ll be super quick and I promise, unlike drinking with me, you won’t regret this” she was laughing, slow and melodically.

He nodded again. How long could she take? He could see the fatigue in her eyes.

She took his hand, jolting him where he stood. Her soft, long and delicate fingers disappearing in his large palm. A female was holding his hand. He couldn’t move, all 6 feet 6 inches of him shifted away from the contact, she didn’t move either, wondering why this massive military man was shocked at her trying to lead the way into the kitchen.

He breathed out quietly. No big deal. Human females were known to be quirky. He pushed his body into motion, she was pulling him out of the room and he would follow.

He tried not to think or focus on the warm hand within his palm. She stopped when she was in the open kitchen and nudged his body towards the chairs lined up on the other side of the massive granite counter that wrapped around the kitchen.

He sat down and looked at his hand again now empty with her palm gone. By the time he was done examining his fingers to see if they had somehow changed, she pulled out a bunch of stuff from the fridge and was lining them up next to a cutting board. She lined all the ingredients she needed together, and then sorted them, the focus on her face clear as she grouped them and then turned on the stove with a large pan on top. Her music came on then, low and simple, she moved with the music as she handled all the food. The notes of the song saying something about being in Paris, she nodded along with some phrases.

She sliced the vegetables with professional skill, Phury didn’t cook but he knew from the concentration and skill that she was not an amateur. The way she skinned garlic by using the knife to split the skin under pressure and diced the vegetables which took longer to cook first and then others in the order of cooking time and seasoned the dish without measuring the spices clued him into the fact that she had more than a little practice with this.  The dish was done by the time she cleaned up the counters and things she used, tossing everything in the dishwasher.

She quickly plated the quesadillas and added some salsa to the side.

“Sorry, I try not to talk when I am focusing on something. I have a very one-track mind” She told him as she handed him the food.

Phury blinked, cooking food to feed someone was a deep sign of respect, he knew even in the human world, they didn’t just cook for each other. He was stunned that she had made him a plate as well. He figured she was fixing herself something.

He accepted it with gratitude, not knowing the words to convey his feelings for treating him with so much respect.

“Would you like to eat outside? It's not much but we can be under the stars” She asked picking up a water bottle as she already started walking towards the balcony with the fire escape.

Phury simply followed wondering when the last time he ate a meal under the stars was. Never. With a female. Oh dear Fade Virgin, what was he doing. He was supposed to get the stuff V wanted and get out of here instead he was dining under the stars.

He was going to let her finish this meal and get the stuff and get out of here in the next fifteen minutes. He promised himself.

She pointed at the fire escape, “Let's sit here?”

He looked around to see that there was nowhere else to sit so he climbed up a coupled of steps and sat down, his long legs bulking up on the next few stairs. She followed suit, easing down on to the first stair that was empty, and attacked the food in her lap. The divine smell was wafting up. Phury cursed in his mind and took a bite, it truly was delicious, the right amount of everything. For the first time in a long time, he was interested in the food that he ate, he felt her lean back against his legs as she continued to eat, her head bent and mouth moving silently.

“Sometimes, I wonder if all of this is worth it? The sacrifices, the hard work, the burden and the people around us? What would it be like to leave all this behind and live for yourself? To be mentally free of all this weight and just do what makes you happy?” She asked in a quiet voice.

“I think about that all the time. If I will ever truly be able to let go of the past and the present and find anything that can give me peace? I don’t even know what makes me happy anymore.” He heard himself answer.

“And what would that peace or happiness look like? Am I angry about what has happened in the past still? and how do I let go? How do I remind the world around me to let go?”

“True, there seems to be no respite, no ending to this, forced to live the same story every day with no ending in sight” his thoughts floated out.

“It seems like I am asking for too much if I think of a happy ending, sometimes all I crave is to know how all of this ends. And if I could do everything I promised I would.” She voiced his thoughts.

 

Then they were both quiet, wondering how the other knew the weight of their burdens.

“Just the things I do to cope with my world should teach me a thing or two by now” She whispered.

“I wish I could stop”

“Even if we did, the story goes on. That is why we do what we do” She told him.

 

True, he thought about quitting the red smoke, the fighting, being around Bella, remembering his parents. The failure, the disappointment, the pain.

 

Even if he stopped, none of that would stop.

They both sighed. She turned around then and smiled at him, that quick and easy smile.

“I didn’t think you would understand any of that”

“I know what you mean, more than you would believe me” he answered cherishing the way her back felt against his knees, the last taste of the food she cooked for with her hands on his lips and the smell of jasmine in the air.

When she stood up with her plate to take his hand again, this time he didn’t hesitate, wrapping his long fingers around hers he stood up and walked inside. She left her empty plate in the sink and took his plate to do the same.

 

“Thank you for the food, it was truly delicious”

“ I am glad you liked it, my feet are killing me, do you care if we put them?”

“Not at all. I am ready too” he lied. He was not ready for this night to end, he wanted to ask her what she was talking about earlier, how did they both feel the exact same things?

She walked to the bedroom and drew the comforter down and crawled to the far side and motioned to him to take the other side, it was a king size bed and Phury knew it would still be an interesting fit. His mind hesitated even as he felt his body propel him towards her. He kicked his shitkickers off and landed them in the same corner that she had thrown her shoes into earlier and eased carefully onto the mattress.

There was space between them, thank the Virgin he thought.  She made no moves to get closer, turning on her side facing away from him she let the tension in her shoulders drain out and fell asleep quickly after that.

 

Phury lay awake waiting, he would reach into her mind now, erase the night, all the interactions between them and then wake her up to ask her how to decode the data V had stolen, he would then ask her to email V all her work and wipe her work, he would will her to go some where far away and add a  good note in there for her to be happy.

He felt her slowly move and flatten out against his side, her warm, curvy body was now hugging his. An arm moved and ended up over his chest, her head nestled on his chest, breath warm on his skin where his shirt parted, a leg gently tossed over his in his slacks.

He tensed, the female was soft and warm, moving in her sleep and enveloping him, a part of him wanted to hightail it out of here and another, a huge part of him wanted her to move closer, more onto him.  He stayed still memorizing how this felt, her delicate scent floating around this room.

As Phury told himself that he was going to wipe her mind in the next minute or so, he drifted into a comfortable sleep, for the first time in a long time without the red smoke, and for the first time ever, under a female.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The dark room came into focus slowly, Phury didn’t move trying to figure out where he was. Fuck. The whole thing smelled and felt different. He took another breath. He often woke up like this, unable to figure out anything. He realized that something soft and warm was on his chest. Comforter? Pillow? Seemed heavier.

Female. Human Female. A human female was fast asleep on his chest, a bare leg slung over his one good leg, an arm wound around his shoulder. Her long, dark and thick waves of hair flowing freely across her back. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Had he fallen asleep in the human’s bed? How the fuck?

Before more thoughts could form, the phone in the pocket of his once neatly pressed slacks buzzed. He pulled it out to see the reminder that dawn was 2 minutes away. He almost wanted to scream. But Phury realized that not being fried to a crisp in a human’s bedroom was not worth the scream so he quickly moved her, thanked the Virgin when she didn’t stir and dematerialized to the Brotherhood's Compound as the Sun started streaming through her bedroom windows.

He barely made it in before his skin started burning and looked around the foyer of the large mansion. The noises erupting were coming from the massive dining room upstairs that easily seated 20. Phury walked towards the noise of the last meal. The activity didn’t stop as he entered. Brothers, their _Shellans_ , doggen bringing food in and out all continued as he took a seat next to Cormia. Phury felt invisible as life went on around him, his thoughts had stayed behind in the bed he just left abruptly. What would Lilah think when she woke up? He thought numbly as he served himself from the food on the table. He wasn’t hungry but he didn’t care. He thought about the food he ate a few hours before this, hand cooked to perfection with care, for him.

A deep voice broke him out of his stupor, he looked up to see V staring at him, diamond eyes so huge that you could not even see the black anymore. His _shellan_ Jane was watching V out of the corner of her eye.

“Brother Mine?”

Phury nodded, he anticipated what was to come, V had the look on him that said I am going to tell you what is going to happen to you in the future and I am going to tell you now. V couldn’t control his visions and Phury was curious about what this was about.

V spoke low in English, translating his thoughts from the old language.

**_ Your Leelan is almost here. Another male’s blood runs in her veins as she fights for all of you. She will mother the first of the next generation of warriors only if you fight. _ **

The silence in the room suddenly seemed too loud. All eyes that were on V were now moving to Phury as V shook his head as if he was waking from a trance.

Was the celibate getting a female? The question hung in the air even though no one addressed it. A female with another male’s blood in her body? Phury looked at the person closest to him, Cormia, her eyes were on Bella. His twin, Zsadist was staring at his _shellan_ as well.

Phury realized then, Bella, Z’s blood ran in Bella’s body. She did fight for all of him, Phury and his other half – Z. She was pregnant with Z’s young who could be the next generation of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Fuck.

What did all of this mean?

Thankfully the silence ended with John Matthew entering the room with Butch from the training center. Butch had started teaching in the training facility since his regression and was now talking rapidly about how the training center needed to expand and the equipment it could use. All the brothers jumped into the topic excitedly, eager to get away from the words V spoke.

Phury was quiet still thinking about what was said and noticed that his twin had stopped eating and was watching him with his eyes black. Telling a bonded male that his _shellan_ might soon be someone else’s was never a good idea.

Bella took her _hellren’s_ arm and talked to him in a quiet voice, the two of them stood up abruptly and left the room. The sound of Bella’s moans reaching Phury ’s ears as Z carried her out.

Concentrate on the Red Smoke, in a few minutes it would all about the red smoke Phury thought. He finished his food with thought and moved to stand up.

“Phury, let's go down to the pit? We can catch up on what happened” Butch asked.

He nodded. Whatever. 5 more mins till he got his red smoke and quiet.

**The Pit**

They entered the living room of the pit walking together, the massive computer rig that V hooked up to the wall was now all turned on, each screen moving with different information and video feeds going in and out.

“So what did you find?” Bucth asked the multicolored haired Brother.

“What?”

“What did you learn from the human female? The scientist? Did you get all the stuff we need?” V asked him, eyes sparkling as if he was laughing at a private joke.

“Fuck. I didn’t get to that part.” Phury’s response shocked everyone.

The brother was usually the diligent one, the perfect one.

“What happened?”

“Nothing. I will get everything tonight.”

“Did you wipe her?” V asked looking more and more agitated.

“Yeah.” Phury lied through his teeth just like he lied about carving lessers or how much red smoke he consumed or how he was a celibate even though he had raging feelings for Bella or how with his immaculate clothing and looks he perfectly hid the fact that he was a loser. A disappointment, to his parents, his brother, the Chosen and the brotherhood. He lost count of how many others he had disappointed.

“I am going back tonight for the rest of it.”  He stalked out of the pit with a stream of expletives raging through his mind. The female was going to remember him if an entire day passed between the night he spent at her place and when he wiped her.

His room was dark just as he liked it and he settled onto his mattress with his art notebook and started sketching what he always sketched. Bella, the lovely mahogany hair, and beautiful aristocratic features.

The fat blunts he rolled in anticipation of the night turned to ash as he slipped slowly into a restless slumber.

****

** The next night.  **

Phury skipped the first meal knowing that he had a lot to get done. He showered and changed into his fighting clothes, he needed some release if he was to keep going.

Lined weapons carefully onto his body, guns first, then the knives and last – the black daggers that marked him as a brother. He wondered what Lilah would think of him now, out of his carefully pressed slacks and button-down shirts and Hermes belt and loafers. Just a fighter with his weapons and leathers. Now.

He stepped out of his room to walk into Butch and V standing right outside.

He raised an eyebrow.

“We are going with you.” The very idea put him a foul mood. He had a planned for how he wanted to handle Lilah and now with these two in tow he could not do that.

They dematerialized to the roof of the building next to hers.

Phury pointed at the apartment that was hers and noticed that all the lights were out and he couldn’t hear anything. “She is not home”

“It's late. She might be on her way home. Let's wait for 30 minutes.”

Nothing. Not one thing moved. V swore. “Fuck, what if she skipped town already?”

Phury didn’t believe that. She didn’t feel like the kind who would just leave. He shook his head, “No. She is here. Just not home.” He didn’t know how he knew that.

“Let’s go to Jen’s? She might know” Butch thought out loud.

* * *

 

The brick townhouse on the quiet street that said old money was well lit. Phury, Butch, and V walked up to the door to wait as V compelled Jen to open the door.

She looked a little confused about why she was letting three large men into her home even as she couldn’t figure where she had seen them before.

Phury entered knowing that the other two brothers would do all the talking. He just needed to be there to get to Lilah’s again and the rest of the night would be his to do whatever he wanted and he wanted to kill.

Jen sat down on the Piano bench, faced the three brothers who chose different furniture around the room to settle into.

“Where is Lilah?” asked Butch not wasting time. He looked relaxed, lounging in the large sofa he chose. The human in him recognized and approved the exposed red brick and white furniture that contrasted with it.

Jen grimaced, trying to understand who they were and why they were asking these questions.

“Make it easy for yourself. Just answer the questions.” Butch added.

“Are you Ed’s guys? Why are you looking for her? I am not helping Ed.” Jen answered face contorting with anger.

“Not Ed’s guys.” Butch answered surprised that human was able to withstand his mental urges.

“Are you going to hurt her?”

“No”

“Thank god, it's nine-thirty, she must be at the Gym. Lilah works out every day”

“When does she get back?”

“Hmm, she works out a lot but usually gets back before eleven. She works throughout the night at her apartment.”

“Who is Ed and why is he after her?” V asked.

Jen’s eyes widened at V’s questions. She shook her head side to side as if she was trying to wake herself up.

“How will you save her if you don’t even know who she is running from? What kinda cops are you?” her voice was now gruff with frustration.

“Tell us.”  V reached into her mind and turned on a tap of words that now flowed out of her with passion.

“I met Lilah as a freshman at Harvard, she was so young, she was only 16 when she started college. She was smart like everyone there but not focused. Honestly, she was a mess, lost in the world of the rich, smart and fabulous. She took classes aimlessly without a plan and didn’t concentrate on anything. We became friends because we were both in the dance class. The only thing Lilah liked to do seriously was dance. She was always quiet and lost in her own world but she was only a child. She was only 17 when Ed discovered her” her hands moved to put air quotes when she said discovered. She laughed a sad laugh as she said the last part.

“Ed was everything Lilah was not. He was a grad student, one of the Connecticut Kirschs. Rich, older, focused and driven. He was a TA in her class, he TA’ed with a purpose, he found young smart kids and mentored them, commercialized their ideas and works, made tons of money by selling their work. He had made a name for himself in the venture capitalist community in Boston, all the tech giants flocked to him. He was everywhere. The Elon Musk of Boston the NYT called him.”

“Edmond Kirsch” Butch repeated closing his eyes as his face set around the frown he had like a stone. A mask came on like he knew what was coming in this story.

Phury heard the name on the human news but didn’t know much about the man who was one of the new age internet billionaires.

“Ed found this bubbling, happy, simple kid in a computer science class and he saw something in her. Something she never even saw in herself and immediately he took her under his wing. He polished a diamond out of the rough he always told people. He dropped all the other candidates he was grooming. He was obsessed with Lilah. He dictated everything, what classes she took, what she spent her time on, what she wore and sometimes even what she ate.”

Jen looked out of the window.

“I was jealous, jealous of Lilah when he launched her first product, a prosthetic arm, when he brought her fabulous dresses and jewelry from around the world and when he enrolled her in class after class for school, etiquette, skills and even diction. What I didn’t see was that he controlled everything, he controlled everything she did. All the standard signs of emotional abuse were right there in front of all of us at Harvard. All of us chose to ignore it because we were jealous of an 18-year-old.”

She had tears in her eyes but she kept going.

“He launched her next three or four products, owned the products and the IP for all of her work, she was never interested in her work, he pushed her to perform, to create and make things that she would never have. But he separated her, she was not allowed to hang out with people he didn’t approve of, not given a chance to date anyone, go anywhere or do anything. He had her enrolled in grad school even before she knew if she wanted to. He isolated her, moved her into his home, spoke to her in a different language so that no one understood what he was saying to her. Everyone thought that he was a god, he created this masterpiece – Lilah. But no one saw that she was a shadow of her past self, lonely, uninterested in everything and depressed. Every time she rebelled there was always repercussions. He never hit her but he bent her in different ways. Emotional Abuse was his weapon of choice. He broke her with words alone”

“I knew it from how he looked at her, he wanted her for more than a protégé. He wanted her for himself. He asked her out on the Valentine ’s Day of her senior year, she was finally 19 and old enough for him to date without raising Silicon Valley’s eyebrows. He was very calculated about everything he did. All the trouble really started here.”

Butch looked even more uncomfortable. Head tilted away. Eyes focused on the window and staring at the trees.

Phury felt his skin go tight around his face. The woman he met didn’t seem to be a survivor of anything but maybe an overzealous boyfriend but here this story was unraveling in front of him. He hoped that it didn’t get much worse but he knew in his bones that it was going to get much worse.

“He built an Artificial Intelligence machine - Winston, a machine that could answer simple questions and do small tasks, a prototype to the Siri and Alexa we all know today. He built it as a Valentine’s Day present for her, for the next two years in grad school, Lilah worked day in and day out on Winston, she added massive servers and power to the machine, she evolved it into something more useful than a phone assistant, it was starting to predict evolutionary models and Edmond looked he hit the biggest jackpot of his life.

A machine that will change Man Kind he called it, as always, he had plans for it. He wanted to sell it to the highest bidder in the valley. Lilah refused, her machine Henry, was not what Winston used to be. It was much more powerful and much more useful. She was not going to let it be branded by Google or Facebook and used to click selfies, she wanted to change the world. Solve world problems. She refused to let Ed patent it. She locked Henry away, encrypted the access to her systems. It was the equivalent of changing the locks on his house.  Ed went crazy, he gave her an ultimatum, she had to deliver a public apology and she would open the bid for her beloved Henry in front of hundreds of his friends. Only then could she come back home otherwise he was done with her. He often made her do things like this. It was all about the power plays for him.

Well, this time she didn’t want to play. She packed a duffel bag full of clothes and moved into a dorm room with me. Overnight she was done with him. 21-year-old Lilah was not his diamond anymore. She never cried about him, not once. ”

Jen was laughing again, memories in her mind bringing joy to her even now.

“Lilah became herself again slowly, the old Lilah I met 5 years ago. We did everything together again, it was like watching someone learn to walk after they had been running for a long time. She couldn’t pick what to eat, or wear or do but she always had her work, she worked her butt off. We graduated and moved to Chicago to start our Ph.Ds. started our programs together.

Lilah’s pure and simple personality always attracted men, but at Harvard, the shadow and power of Edmond kept them at bay, in Chicago, nothing was there to stop Dominick from falling for her.”

“Dominick Cruz wasn’t it?” Butch asked voice gravel. He didn’t make eye contact with anyone even now. He seemed to be oscillating from the past to the present and back.

Phury turned to Jen. He had to know. He cursed himself for not paying more attention to human news and affairs.

“What happened then?”

“Dominick was the opposite of snooty, refined, and egoistical Ed. Nick was from a lower-middle-class family, self-made, a man of heart, he saw Lilah for what she was. He loved like every man should love his wife. Lilah took a long time to come around to the idea of dating an MMA fighter. She didn’t like violence, she was still spending a good amount of time of her day blocking Ed’s onslaught of media and personal vilification. He gave interviews and leaked details of their life together during the day and called her every night begging her to come back and threatening her when she refused. Froze all her accounts, technically he stole what was hers but she didn’t care. She was falling for Nick. I remember the day she moved into Nick’s Gold Coast apartment. She threw her old phone into Lake Michigan and got a new number, new bank accounts, and new everything.

For two years, Nick was careful about her, he had heard of Ed’s obsession. He made sure it was in all his contracts that no one ever talked about her in his press or fights. He truly loved Lilah. She needed him to love her like that without conditions, rules, and demands. But it drove Edmond crazy with jealousy. He left her a voicemail, he told her that she had one week to come home, she could not and would not date a slumdog, a dirty fighter who made his living with his fists. She had one week he told her.”

Tears spilled over her eyes onto her face now.

“We didn’t know, we didn’t know what he had planned for her when she didn’t go home to Boston in a week. If we did, so much would be different.”

“Enough. Let's go now. Let's go to Lilah” Butch was up and already walking towards the door.

“No, what happened next. I don’t know what happened after this” Phury heard his voice, it was low with anger. He needed to know. He was thinking about her green eyes, the dark tresses that flowed like a waterfall.

“I got it. We’ll cover it later” Butch’s rough voice seemed a million miles away.

“What happened then?” Phury asked Jen again.

“Nick was up to defend his UFC championship, it was a big night for him. He had been training hard but people had doubts. Lilah wanted to be there for him, she wanted to go to his fight. I went with her. The whole time, the cameras were on her. The crowd loved to see Nick’s girl. The fight was hard, he was hurt bad but he pulled through. He proposed to her as soon as it was over, right there in the cage, in front of millions of people. She said yes. We all knew she loved him. I didn’t know how much. There were after parties for the after parties and Lilah wanted to go home, she made Nick go to the party even though he didn’t want to. She wanted him to celebrate. She went back home by herself.

She never told me about the rest. She never talks to anybody about it. I think Nick is the only one who ever talked with her about it. But it was so well covered in the news and media that I think everyone knows what happened.”

Jen got quiet. She was looking at Butch.

“you know” she whispered at him.

His voice broke the silence in the room, “I knew she looked familiar but I couldn’t recognize her without all the medical equipment. It was on the news every day. I was also a Dominick Cruz fan. I saw the footage from the cameras in the house and the news.

She was in their bed with Cruz’s dog. The dog went off suddenly and she ordered the dog to be quiet.  Edmond was suddenly in the bedroom. He shot the dog the moment he entered. He came prepared. He knew she would have the German Shepard with her. He rounded on her then, ordering her to pack a bag and leave with him. She refused and he advanced on her. She backed up against the glass window, her screams were registered by the cameras in the living room. There were no cameras in the private spaces of the house.

They say she fell through the glass wall as she ran from him. He definitely pushed her or there was a tussle, but she fell. She fell three floors from the bedroom right onto the tarp that was covering their swimming pool”

“Did he run away?” V asked. The brother had heard something about this a couple of years ago but didn’t truly care or pay attention to the human news.

Butch shook his head, “No he took her. He wrapped her in the tarp and took her like an animal.” The cop’s voice cracked.

“Nick came home to his dog dead on his floor, his fiancé was missing, her blood was everywhere and the bedroom was trashed but the police were no help. He did everything he could. Everyone knew who had Lilah but Edmond was not just anybody, he covered all his tracks. Teams of lawyers explained to the media why Mr. Kirsch was unavailable.” Jen spat out the last word like it was bitter.

“Nick hunted. Hired private detectives, and finally, one day cracked in front of the media. It was the only time the world saw Dominic Cruz cry. He begged for whoever took Lilah to return his girl. He begged the police and the government that somewhere out there his 24 years old soon to be wife was alone, hurt and scared and he wanted her back. The media went nuts, King of UFC begs for his girl back and the pressure on the government was too much. Suddenly, we got a phone call, Lilah was at the Northwestern's Hospital. Someone had wheeled her in and left her at the hospital. Nick and I went together, it was her, shrunken, scarred, naked under the hospital Johnny but Nick got his Lilah back. Our friend, Matt was a doctor there, he told me later that even though he knew she was fine it scared him to even lift up the sheet she was covered in.”

She sobbed, openly looking nowhere but at her feet.

“No one talked about how she ended up at the hospital after 7 days of being gone but Nick didn’t care. He left the country with her as soon as she could walk. For a whole year, all he did was be with her as she came back to him. It was slow. She called me once in a while, they spent all their time together and no one knew where they were or what they were doing. I didn’t blame them. After everything that happened. They deserved it. When they moved back, Lilah didn’t go out much. She stayed in their home and trained with Nick for his fights. She talked about coming back to U Chicago but never actually did it. Her goals were different. She hired lawyers to reach out to Ed. They settled privately. Nick hated it. Nick hated that they didn’t drag Ed to court and file criminal charges against Ed. I think Lilah just didn’t want to know what Ed did to her in those 7 days. She couldn’t live through that again. All she wanted was an agreement that Ed would never try to reach out to her or come near her again. But Nick didn’t understand that. He was a fighter. He wanted a fight. They got into a massive argument and he left home angry and hit the road and had an accident. At 25 Lilah was once again all alone. Nick never came home from that. She made sure his family got all of his money and mourned him like only she could but it was never enough. She had lost the man who loved her for herself.”

Jen sniffled. Phury understood now why the cop was jumpy, Butch’s sister was killed in a sexual assault. Phury thought about Lilah again. The easy smile, the dancing, the relaxed manner.

“She is different now. She came back to school 2 years after Nick died. She tried her best to let it all go and live. She doesn’t like to admit that any of this happened. She won’t talk about it. She is trying really hard to let go of her past and now it feels like Edmond is back for Henry.”

“We got her. He is not going to get her this time” Phury told Jen with conviction. But he knew now, he knew that he couldn’t let Lilah live through all of that again no matter what she was or wasn’t to him. No one should have to go through this again.

“Please? Keep her safe. Go now. She might need you.” Jen whispered when she walked to the door. She looked momentarily stunned as V wiped her mind clean of the conversation but she shut the door behind them without a word.  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

Hello BDB lovers,

This chapter was intended for next week but I will be busy with work so I wanted to post it ahead of time so that you can enjoy reading it over the weekend. I will post more before the next weekend.

Please review the chapters you are reading so that I know that you are enjoying it.

Love,

Eclairz.

* * *

“Butch, you want to bring up the rear and block the front door if she tries anything? She can be a handful, I couldn’t reach into her mind yesterday.” V asked plotting.

The other brother disappeared silently. No doubt staking a lookout near the entrance of the building.

Phury spotted a G wagon driving down the street to her big glass and steel building, he pointed it out to V.

“Okay, she’s on her way. Let's give her a few to settle down, go in, grab everything, wipe her clean, will her to move away so that she can get away from anybody else. It should be 30 minutes tops. I want a stiff drink and a tough fight after I get all her stuff.” V told Butch on the phone.

Phury couldn’t see her but he could hear the locking chime of her beast of a car.

The lights in the apartment went on and suddenly he could see her through the windows.

Dark hair wound tightly in a braid that fell straight down her back, she was wearing black workout crops and a black short-sleeved workout top and black Nikes, she walked in a with a duffle and threw it on the couch.

So the female was back from a gym or something. Good, it meant that she would be tired.

She walked to the kitchen sink and took a long drink of cold water.

Suddenly, a quiet clear voice sounded through the kitchen. It seemed to come from the small speakers hoisted throughout the apartment.

“Lilah? Incoming bogies.” A male voice that sounded light and casual.

“How many and how much time?” she asked without blinking an eye.

“About 4 men and 5 minutes. They are pulling in now”

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck” she responded. Moving quickly.

Phury felt V stiffen next to him. What the fuck was happening? He smelled the sickeningly sweet scent of his enemy species then. Lessers were here.

He looked across to her window again.

“Let's go Henry, Rock and Roll time.” She said in a quiet voice as she pulled out a massive backpack from under the kitchen sink and strapped it to her back.

The lights went out in her apartment, it was dark and quiet, Phury knew she was in there because he heard her heartbeat.

“We need to move, we need to help her!” Phury told V.

“One second. I want to see this.”

“Not a show. Let's get her and go”

“Aren’t you even the least bit curious why the Omega Society wants her. What are they going to do? Let's be on standby for action but let's give this a min to play out Brother.”

“Fuck V, I don’t want her to die”

“She won't.”

Phury opened his mouth to argue and remembered that V was never wrong.

The door to her apartment burst open.

“She is in here. We tracked her to this apartment” One of the heartless motherfuckers was throwing orders.

“Remember boys, we need her alive.”

Silence in the apartment was astounding.

Phury could still hear her heartbeat.

It happened so fast that Phury was not sure if he saw what happened in the right order.

Two guns erupted from the kitchen as the glass door to the balcony slid open.

Was she shooting two guns in the dark? This was some Lara Croft Bullshit right here.

“I knew it” V whispered next to Phury. They heard the bullets make contact.

She ran out on the fire escape and took off towards the bottom of the building. She had matching Heckler & Koch 9mm handguns strapped to her as she jumped over the railings and booked it.

Her plan would have worked. Almost.

Except the Lessers were not human, her bullets landed their targets but did nothing to dissuade her pursuers than shock them and Butch burst into the apartment gun drawn and riling for action.

V moved in sync with Phury. Roaring into her apartment with quick strides as they dematerialized just inside the living room.

The four lessers looked surprised to see the Brothers and jumped into action.

Butch had one engaged and V took the other. Phury ran towards the other two with his knives out. He didn’t care for guns right now. He wanted to feel things and wanted them to feel some of his wrath and frustration.

As he grappled with two of them, the bigger one took off towards the balcony. He was going after Lilah. Fuck.

Butch noticed this but couldn’t move as his body was drawn to the lesser. At this point he stopped fighting, he knew what would come next. He would inhale the undead bastard.

V moved into a tight circle around Butch and laid the Lesser he just killed down on the floor.

Phury struggled with the massive guy he was fighting and tried to warn V.

Suddenly a scream sounded somewhere. Lilah. Fucking hell.

He punched into hyperdrive. Running his knife into the chest of the lesser who was going at him with all his strength and running out to the fire escape to see that Lilah had both her guns leveled at the Lesser’s chest who was just laughing at her as he stalked towards her in the alley.

Phury dematerialized right behind the lesser and started running towards him.

“The boss said you wouldn’t come quietly.”

Lilah shot then walking backward as her matching guns did her talking, the pale bastard barely stumbled as he advanced.

Phury ran faster, pushing himself even as he knew he couldn’t get to them in time. He could see that she would be out of bullets any minute now.

The sweet smelling bastard took out a smaller gun from behind his back and shot her. It caught her square in the neck.

NO. NO. NO.

Phury launched into the air as he watched Lilah take a couple of steps really quick and fall backward and saw the absolute terror in her eyes.

She landed on her back with a harsh thud just as he launched onto the lesser’s back with both his knives.

He didn’t know how long he stabbed the lesser but knew that he was getting covered in the thick black blood that ran through the guy’s body.

He saw Lilah’s body spasm on the hard ground and ran over.

She was bleeding and he could hear her heart slow. He saw that the blood was trailing from her shoulder but there was no bullet.

He ran his hands over her chest and stomach trying to find the bullet hole.  He spotted what was causing her discomfort then.

Rage racked his body and his eyes went red for a minute even though relief flooded him

The fucking lesser had shot her with a tranquilizer like a fucking animal.

He pulled her off the ground.

“Phil” a soft murmur escaped from her lips.

“It’s okay Lilah, I am here.” He saw V drag Butch from the Foyer of the building. He knew the cops would be here any minute thanks to all the gunshots.

“We need to get out of here!” V told him supporting Butch’s weight on his side.

“Phil? Take my car but no hospital” She whispered to him, digging out the key fob from her gun holster. She was fading out, Phury could see her struggle to stay awake.

“Ok, Lilah. Just take it easy.” He warned her, He didn’t know what else to do as he ran to the big Merc SUV with her in his arms.

“Promise? No hosp”

“Yeah. Yeah, just relax”

“Promise?”

“I promise Lilah. No hospital.” Phury looked at her long body in his arms, covered in blood, hers and lesser’s and noted the eyes that were shut tight. “I promise _thally_ , I promise. No Hospital.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Phury picked up the human female and ran to her car, reaching it the same time as V who was dragging Butch. They didn't need to talk as they loaded up into the car. V got in behind the wheel as Phury threw him the key fob and hoisted Lilah into the back seat. He ran around to the other side and noted that Butch was already buckled into the front passenger seat. Damn V was quick.

He jumped in and locked the door. He could sense that more Lessers were pouring into the Alley as they ran down the fire escape just the way Lilah had a few minutes ago. When the bulky lesser realized that their query was now in the large G-class Merc he ran towards the car.

V gunned the car onto the street and drove as fast as he could. The car ran like a dream, but something was off. Bullets hit the back screen of the car and didn't penetrate the vehicle. They lodged themselves into the glass firmly.

The Lessers fell back as a massive explosion rocked the building. V looked up from the direction of the explosion, Lilah's apartment was on fire, and smoke billowed out in a black torrent pouring out into the sky.

Butch stirred regaining his senses after his dinner of feasting on the undead Lessers, the sound of the explosion forcing him to stay alert even in his current state. His voice was gravel as he brusquely addressed the bullets, "This beast isn't a cheap bullet resistant car, and its bulletproof those windows are built to withstand an automatic rifle. I bet it's armored too. It feels heavy."

Phury's mind roiled. How had he missed all this? He had driven this car and hadn't noticed any of this!

"It drives well but there is a lag in the acceleration, as though the back is heavier than the front." V noted wondering out loud.

"I bet this thing has custom suspension. You cannot just armor a G-class and make it bulletproof without it falling down with the weight. It's all custom built I bet!" Butch knew all about beasts like this from his time in the Caldwell PD. What didn't add up was why an academician needed it. Even with her history.

"If this thing has a custom suspension then it's back heavy. I wonder what she has in there?" V asked, talking out loud more to occupy Butch from his from last meal than anything else.

"The bigger question is, why does she need this? I get it that she wants to be careful given her past but does she need an armored car?"

"Or a bunch of Lessers hunting her?"

They both looked in the rearview mirror and caught Phury watching the female who was out cold.

Phury struggled to focus. How had he missed all these details about the car? Was it the same one he drove? He realized that he was distracted, he was distracted by the long and alluring female next to him and he had wanted to get done with her and go home to his red smoke the night he drove it. His mind screamed at him as he acknowledged that he had let his focus down because of a female and drugs. What kind of a brother was he? How could he fight an entire race of evil that was out to kill his race if couldn't identify a bulletproof car when he saw one? Or fell asleep on the job?

He turned to look at the female that started this mess. Her face was peaceful like she was sleeping, those dark eyes closed, her breathing was faint, they had to get her medical help. Her body was ensconced in black clothing, it clashed with the Lilah he last saw in her pink nightshirt. He formulated that Doc Jane could probably help her.

V's hard voice broke his train of thought, "Yeah, it's interesting that they sent so many of them after her, she must have something they want, which means it's important for us to have it first."

"We need to get her medical attention. I don't know what they did to her." Phury murmured, a little bothered the V didn't care about the female passed out in the backseat beyond why the Lessening Society wanted her.

"She is fine, I can hear her heartbeat. Steady. Jane can look at her."

V pulled off the highway into a small exit that signaled that they were leaving Caldwell and drove into the parking lot of a strip mall. On cue, the Escalade appeared, Rhage was behind the wheel and jumped out to help them.

Hollywood's eyes went to Butch first, the Cop, face ashen, was almost crawling out of the front seat, Rhage knew that Butch would need to spend time with V's glowing magic wand, his arm. His eye's narrowed as they landed on Phury, Rhage heard some things about the long-haired brother at ZeroSum that made him want to ask a billion questions. But then Phury ran around to the other side and pulled out a female who looked like she was out cold. The whole thing looked bizarre. The female was clad in an all-black ensemble, down to her black Nikes and had a massive backpack strapped to her back but was definitely out cold. She looked small in Phury's arm but Hollywood could tell that she was tall for a female. Phury's eyes were hard but Rhage sensed the anxiety in the brother's stance. He quietly opened the back door of the Escalade and watched the Brother deposit his precious cargo and lock her down with a seat belt and throw her backpack in the trunk before he turned around to the other three brothers.

Phury was relieved that V was not fighting the idea of taking Lilah back to the compound. He couldn't imagine leaving her now. He turned around to see all three brothers stare at him. He didn't care to address why he was suddenly carrying a human female around when usually he didn't even like to be touched by females. He looked back at Lilah's car.

The other brother's turned to look at it as well.

Hollywood looked at the armor-plated Merc, "Nice ride!"

"It's the female's, I'm going to light it up before we leave just in case those Lessers had it rigged." V answered as he walked around the car ungloving his glowing hand.

Butch heaved off the side of the Escalade he was leaning on for support. "Wait! I want to see what's in the trunk!"

V shot Butch a side nod and headed around the back and popped the trunk open. There was a yoga mat in its ties, a couple of books and nothing else. A yoga mat didn't cause the pull that V felt when he gunned the car forward. He put his palm down flat on the floor of the trunk and moved it along the side until he felt a groove and hooked his fingers and lifted the false flooring up, there was secret compartment under the floor.

Rhage whistled low when he saw the arsenal in the car. Enough ammo to light up a tank and some more, automatic rifles, some lightweight handheld explosives, and cash.

"Is she a gangster? That is the only way this would make sense!"

"Hollywood, get ready to laugh your perfect ass off, she is a scientist" V replied in a clipped tone.

"A scientist who abducted by one of the most powerful men in the modern world." Butch shot back. He would have a car like this if he knew that a psychopath was after him.

Phury watched quietly. Trying to understand what a soft-spoken and thoughtful woman like Lilah was doing with serious ammo like this, then his mind flashed the images of her firing two handhelds at the Lessers in the darkness as she ran. He needed to know more about her and what she was trying to protect herself.

The rest of the brothers got back into the Escalade leaving V to incinerate the car with his hand. When V got in the car a few minutes after, no one talked, they rode in silence.

"So the human is going to the compound?" Rhage asked the other brothers.

"She has something that the Omega wants. We already wanted something she had, not sure if its same stuff."

Butch piped up then from next to the female, looking at her out of the side of his eye, "She also needs us. She is in her own trouble." Phury nodded. He knew the Cop was full of compassion, in a different way than the rest of them.

They reached the compound in no time with Rhage driving in his usual crazy style. Phury lifted Lilah out of the car and ran to the medical section they had, he knew that V had already texted Doc Jane and she met him at the entrance and asked some questions about happened.

When he laid the female down on the examination table that the Doc pointed at, he couldn't leave. He retreated to a corner of the room and watched as his brother's shellan took Lilah's vitals, and drew blood from her arm to check for anything that the vitals missed. She eyed the tranquilizer dart, she hadn't seen a human tranquilized with a dark like this before but she wasn't surprised since all most every day, the Brotherhood brought her some case she couldn't imagine. She applied pressure around the needle of the dart and eased it out and bagged it. Her eyes identified that the crusted blood was from a surface cut on the woman's forearm and sanitized it before bandaging it.

"A human female in the compound didn't think this would ever happen" Doc Jane spoke, mostly to herself but also to the Brother he stood silently watching her. She wondered why Phury was here but knew better than to ask him.

When he offered no explanations, she probed in a different way "What do we know about her? How old is she? Do you know?"

His eyebrows knitted in concentration, "Maybe 27 or 28, her friend mentioned"

"Do you think she is hurt anywhere else?" the Doc asked trying to decide if she should cut the female's clothing open or not.

"No, I had my eyes on her most of the time, a Lesser tried to grab her by her arm, that's how she got that cut and then he shot her with that tranquilizer stuff. She was holding her own until then." Phury tried to keep pride from creeping into his voice as he recalled the sight of Lilah shooting at the Lesser in the alley in the dark.

"She looks familiar but I can't place her" Doc Jane kept abreast of what was happening in the human world that she lived in for all her life and knew she had seen the woman that her husband texted her about he hadn't given her a name and she couldn't place where she saw this person before. She wanted to examine the rest of her body to check for any other cuts or bruises. Preliminary tests told her that nothing was majorly wrong but she couldn't tell if any of her bones were broken.

"Her name is Lilah, she is a computational biologist." Phury knew that the Doc probably knew of Lilah's history and that would help her.

Doc Jane gasped, she knew now. She knew where she saw the woman on her hospital bed. Her face was plastered on every TV and newspaper for a week a couple of years ago. High profile abduction, a sort of medical moral and ethical issue case study that was only gossiped about. She looked different now, even though she was covered in blood and grime and out cold, she didn't look much like the televised footage of a small shrunken woman in a hospital smock, lying cold on a gurney left in a Chicago hospital with a million tubes pumping in and out of her.

"I heard about her. I need to know more about her medical history before we do anything serious for her. I heard she has some umm, ah, complications" She tiptoed around the issues knowing that Lilah, when she woke up, would be thankful for any confidentiality that Jane could practice on her behalf. Jane had followed the lawsuit.

Jane's curiosity piqued. She had heard about what was done to the girl when she was a captive. It made sense now. It was a case most doctors couldn't forget. The tales must be aggrandized. The girl looked normal Jane rationalized.

"They used too much of the tranquilizer. Her muscle mass is not proportionate to the dosage. I think they meant to knock her out for a few minutes but looks like it might be hours before she wakes up. I'm going to keep her here for monitoring as we get her bloodwork processed. I'm going to put her on an IV just to help her body recoup from the dehydration and the drowsiness of the tranq."

She moved away from the bed, trying not to touch the girl who lay on it any more than necessary. It was not prudential to be riddled with personal curiosity about a patient. She needed to stay professional. If she could get away from Lilah for a bit, Jane could regain that sense. She would come back after the meal and look more.

"Can you text V? He can get her medical history off the hospital's database" She asked Phury. She knew it was unethical but she couldn't also provide proper care without knowing what had happened to the woman.

Phury nodded not knowing how to remain in the room without questions. He knew it was time for the last meal and that he should head back to the main house but his feet remained stuck to the ground as he watched Lilah breath. He watched the Doc inject Lilah and set up an IV silently. When it was done, she turned to him, "Let's clean up and head to the last meal?" she asked him as she sent off the blood work to the lab. They paid a private firm to do the tests and paid them a premium to keep it quick.

He nodded looking down at his clothes, the leathers were drenched in lesser blood and he smelled foul. He strode out looking one more time at the mocha skinned female laying in the expanse of white sheets, wires crisscrossed over her as the monitoring systems continuously assessed her vitals. Please be okay, he prayed silently as he walked away from her.

Lilah woke up to the sound of the continuous beeping, the sound seemed far away but it induced a slow spreading hysteria in her mind. She knew that sound. Hospital monitors. She shouldn't have trusted the guy who held her before her world went dark, she swore in her mind. He looked like someone she could trust and instinctively she had decided that she would and now look where it got her. She considered the scenarios with as much objectivity as she could. No need to get emotional now, she had to conserve her strength for her escape.

She knew that she had to be very careful if she wanted to get out in one piece. Best case scenario was that she was in some kind of a law enforcement facility, the guys she met at the club definitely looked like military men, and the worst case scenario, Ed had her and this was a private hospital owned by someone who rolls over for a belly tickle by Edward Kirsch and harvest her organs if Ed winked at them. Perfect. She listened hard, no human breathing or sounds came through to her ears. She moved her head wishing her hair was open to cover her eyes instead of being in a tight braid.

She slowly opened one eye with her head bent at an angle just in case the room was riddled with security cameras. No cameras. Good. That was good. She opened both her eyes and looked around slowly and carefully. She had trained for this. No need to be afraid she told herself. Slowly she tested her hands and legs, her head was pounding, a dull ache rising in waves in her head but her limbs were working and unrestrained. She looked at the monitors next to her, she had spent enough time in hospitals in the last couple of years to know that they were all standard. She slowly unplugged each one of them with calculated precision, the heart monitors could be linked to an alarm that might get triggered so that had to go last.

She removed her IV needle embedded in the skin of her hand, glad that the pain was not too much. She tested her feet, a little wobbly but definitely capable of running. She took a deep breath and pulled her heart monitor stand with her and padded silently to the door and twisted the knob and let her breath out when she realized that it was unlocked. She still couldn't tell what this place was. The equipment was new and sophisticated enough to be a high-profile private clinic or a secret military facility. She looked out of the door, a long hallway opened on both sides, it was well lit and had a couple of doors leading out and around, she couldn't tell what they were but they had no lights on, another win for her. No one seemed to be around. Not in line with her government facility idea. They would have someone here. So she was in a private facility somewhere.

She pulled the pads for the heart monitor quickly and moved with a plan, she had seen a door that was heavy and opened outwards, it must be the door out. She walked to the door and pushed it tentatively, it opened as well. Wow, maybe today was her day? Maybe fate wouldn't hit her in the head with a shit stick today?

She moved noiselessly along the wall, waiting to hear any sounds. The hallway was wide enough to fit three or four semis. She wondered again about what this place was. She opened the next door out, harsh fluorescent light met her eyes, she moved more cautiously, trying to hide in the shadows and focusing on the task at hand instead of the pain that was now searing white hot in her head.

No time for weakness, no time for pain she told herself. She looked around and noticed that she was in a training facility of some kind, mats, work out equipment, ropes, she moved again, and spotted the door out and sprinted towards it. She pushed it open with all her might and stopped in her tracks. The man on the other side of the door stood motionless as well. Assessing her the way she was assessing him. She had never seen anything like him before.

Hair buzzed to the scalp. A scar ran marring most of his face, but it wasn't the scar that put Lilah on alert, it was the body of this guy. He was massive, about six feet six inches tall and had at least 250 pounds packed on him in hard muscle. Thick arms waited at the side of his body in tense silence, she looked up again and caught his eyes, and black stared at her. Lilah had dark eyes that looked black in most light but her eyes had nothing on this guy. Whoever he was, she should not mess with him.

She didn't move, waiting for him to make the first move, words? Fists? A gun? Another tranquilizer? Who knew? She sighed. She was doing so well until this happened.

She looked at him again, he was in black soccer shorts and wore a black t-shirt that looked a little frayed, and black Nikes. He was watching her the way an apex predator would watch a deer. She saw the pierced ears and the tattoos on his neck. Ed would never hire a guy who looked like this. This was everything Ed hated. This thought alone relaxed her.

Zsadist eyed the human female in front of him. The Brothers had briefed the others before the Last Meal. He knew about her and her past. It reminded himself of the mistress. Taken against will for something the victim didn't treasure or want.

He watched her closely, trying to figure out how not to scare her. Females never reacted well to him. His mind jogged to the meeting that was held in the Library after the Last Meal. The plan that V explained was simple. V would spend time with her to figure out why the Omega was after her, the Lessening Society had no interest in humans, especially human females, and then V would get the research stuff he wanted from her.

Doc Jane had unloaded the most explosive news about Lilah. When V and Wrath argued about moving her out of the compound to make sure she didn't know about them and when they mentioned that wiping her memory would be a problem, and that's why they should get rid of her ASAP, Jane had taken several breaths. "I hate to circumvent her right to patient confidentiality but she's not going to last long. She has some kinda of blood-based disease. Her files just talk about the symptoms and lab results but I would put my money on Leukemia."

"So she is going to die anyway? Still doesn't mean we throw her out there for that sadistic psycho to find her." Butch argued vehemently. Z could sense sorrow rolling off of the Cop and was surprised that he cared so much. They had only met the female a couple of times.

"Well, we don't know when but given how her bloodwork turned out she doesn't have long. Her blood is attacking her own body constantly." Jane replied.

"We can't let her stay here without knowing what we are." V argued back with his Shellan. The stranger in their midst was a prodigy, she would figure it out. She was a huge liability.

"V? Try to understand? She has a very limited time." Jane had countered. She didn't care that the scientist would learn the secret of the race, the bloodwork showed immense degeneration with no cure. Even though the woman was fit and healthy on the outside, her blood would attack the organs and destroy everything in her body steadily. It was just a matter of time. In the time Jane had after the Last Meal, she had stayed up and reviewed Lilah's latest research files that V had stolen from her, if Jane understood correctly, Lilah already knew that there was another race amongst their midst. She had the key to decode all the vampire race, it was easy to see why the Lessening Society wanted her. If they got access to her work, they could have the very fiber that made Vampires, they could build biological weapons, and they would become invincible.

"She survived without us this entire time. She can keep doing it. We are not getting involved in human matters" Wrath declared even though he didn't want to put this human at risk, it was not his job to protect the human race. It was his job to protect the vampire race and they were barely getting by. He couldn't start making exceptions now.

The room went quiet as Phury, Butch and Jane all stepped towards Wrath, ready to plead their case for their own reasons. Z's eyes landed on V who had gone completely still. Fuck. This meant he was having another vision. Just like the one at dinner the other night. When he told them in a matter of fact voice that Phury's mate might be Bella. Z knew better than to ask V what he meant. He just tried to make the best of what he had now. All eyes in the room shifted to V.

"Wrath? I saw her in a vision. We need her. She is not going to be an issue" V spoke in a low voice that suddenly sounded tired. "I can't explain but we need to keep her."

With that, the meeting ended. Z couldn't shake off the weird vibes from this entire thing and decided to head down to the gym and sweat it off.

Lilah couldn't tell if it had been seconds or minutes or hours since they both stood, unmoving, her headache roared in her mind, telling her she had limited time.

She decided to play the helpless girl card, it might work better than "I am trained to fight guys like you but am not sure you can even be fought".

"I don't know where I am" she whispered. Her voice came out hoarse. She didn't care. She looked at his eyes trying to see how he would react to her. The black eyes widened when he realized that she was talking to him. She caught a hint of disinterest that replaced the curiosity immediately almost in a forceful manner.

He didn't how to react. The human was not afraid of him, she was trying to talk to him. Z could sense the resolve pouring out of her, no fear, just calculated desperation to get out of her captivity. He knew the feeling. When someone decided to fight till they died because fear got you nowhere.

"I don't know who you are, I think I recognize you but I cannot tell. I just want to leave." When he still didn't move, Lilah realized that she had to change track. Even though her head was now close to shutting down on her, she pushed her body into a fight stance and raised her fists.

She was going to take this ginormous guy down if she wanted to get out and the only way she could do that was with skill and not strength. His body moved in tandem with hers. He also pulled his body into a stance. Ready to block her. She had to go for a kick she decided. She had to use her legs. Her fists couldn't help her against him. She needed to just wipe him out until she could get past the next door. Baby steps. She pushed her self off the ground in a silent arc.

A loud thud behind them made them both turn around. The doors she had come from pushed open and a group of people burst out. A woman came first, wearing a doctor's scrubs, and the three men that burst in after her made Lilah's mind run amok with ideas. The guys from the club and Phil.

She stopped dead when she saw Phil, the golden eyes locked on her almost black ones.


	6. Chapter 6

** Chapter 6:  **

Phury watched her silently, thankful that he had insisted on seeing her after the Last Meal. He had trailed behind V, Butch and the Doc to the Training Center which was adjacent to the Medical Center that the Doc ran. They had walked silently, each with their own agenda  clouding their mind . 

V had been clear when talked with the household, the Brotherhood, the  _ Shellans  _ and the  _ doggen.  _ The scientist was insanely smart, she would not be allowed contact with the outside world. Everyone would be on their watch when they were around her. No need to tell her anything about being a vampire and the details of their race other than what was strictly necessary. Anything they learned about her that could be useful would be passed back on to V.  The mood was somber and serious as the meeting ended.  Mary had stayed back in the room unable to leave without knowing more. They were all a little jarred by the history of the female and what had happened. Each one of them tried to push the uncomfortable  memories that this female brought to the surface in them. The abduction, the uncertainty, the impending death due to health and most of all being alone in this world were all familiar themes in this household. 

Phury stopped midstride as they pushed the door to the training center open. He noted that the other three had paused as well. Not knowing how to react. He rushed forward after a seconds pause. 

Lilah was only a few feet away from Z, his eyes black, tracking her every movement as she had a desperate expression on her face and her body was bent into a stance that had Phury take note of the resolve and desperation that flowed through her. Her eyes locked on his. She moved back instantly turning her body towards him fully. Her dark eyes locked on his and she stood still. Mouth opening a little. She evaluated the three bodies propelling towards her behind him and stepped back. Her hands falling back to her side. 

She eyes the four Brothers and the doctor. Took an audible breath. “Who are you guys?” her voice was hoarse. 

“You should be resting, you are no t okay to walk around yet! ”  Jane burst out first breaking the awkward silence. 

Lilah nodded “I need to  know  who you are! What is this place?”

“We are not Edmond Kirsch’s people. We are here to help you but you need to cooperate.” Butch’s years of cop training kicked in action. “If you can get back to the Medical Center, we can explain. I promise we are not here to hurt you.” The last part of the sentence came out of his mouth with a reassuring tone. V turned slightly to see the cop’s face. He was surprised at the tenderness in the situation where they had all control and the human had none.

She sagged visibly against the wall then. Her shoulders slumped and the resolve melted from her face, replaced by wide eyes and she asked again as if she couldn’t believe her luck. “You have nothing to do with Ed? Nothing?” she asked the cop without moving from the wall she was leaning onto.

He nodded. Her legs gave up then and she closed her eyes and slowly sunk to the floor wrapping her arms around her and rested her head on her knees.

“I’m okay. I just need a second.” She mumbled from her spot on the ground. 

“Can you walk? You are severely dehydrated!” Jane asked her gently. 

“Yeah, I just need a second.” She repeated taking deep breaths and rocking herself. Phury knew then that he would never forget this moment. He watched just like Z did, old memories flooding his mind as he fought to stay in the present. The moment when you are saved and your captor, your tormentor, your abuser is not a threat anymore. When you know you have nothing to be afraid of. No one moved. 

Z stepped forward “Someone help her” his voice sounded strangled. His face was pale and tight , his lips were a thin line and almost blue like he was holding his breath . He wanted to pick up the human and comfort her but couldn’t bring himself to touch her. He pointed at Phury “Help her goddammit.” He barked at him.

Phury forced his mind to think and walked to her, crossing the distance with light steps. “Lilah, I am going to pick you up okay? We are going to walk back to the Medical Center and we can talk more. Is it okay for me to pick you up?”

She pushed her head up from her knees. Phury was surprised to see tears streaming down her face.  He waited for a heartbeat longer before he could wait anymore and gently bent down to pick her up. She didn’t move much in his arms as he started walking and he couldn’t bring himself to look at her. She was terminal? Going through a PTSD episode in his arms and he didn’t know what he could do to comfort her? What could he even say? He remembered the night he saved Z, the flashbacks racking his mind. He looked down for the first time since he picked her up, she had stopped crying and was now resting her head against his chest, and her arms were still around her as though they would protect her from the world around her. Her lips looked chapped and bruises bloomed on her dark skin. 

He put her down on the hospital bed that he had left her on earlier that night and eased back as Jane busied herself with the cables and wires.  Minutes passed and no one talked or moved except for Jane.

“You pulled out your IV? It was supposed to rehydrate you. Your head must be killing you right now” She said in a tone that was meant to be neutral but had a hard edge to it.

“Sorry” no explanations were offered but they all knew. She had tried to escape thinking about the worst case scenario.  Her eyes were closed and her head rested on the pillow as Jane reinjected the IV. A small wince of pain escaped her lips when the needle entered her skin. 

Phury looked around the room, Z had disappeared, V and Butch were standing in a corner watching Jane  the way he had earlier today. Phury suddenly felt self-conscious. Why was he even here? But he couldn’t force himself to walk away. He eased back and occupied one of the chairs that were in the room. 

“He’s your brother? The guy out there?” The hoarse voice sounded out the question in a thoughtful tone. It jolted  Phury  from his thoughts, how did she know? few people could see the resemblance even after they were told that they were twins. 

“Yeah.”

“Your name isn’t Phil is it?” Jane snorted at that as she offered Lilah the water, the female drank steadily and emptied the cup. 

“No.” He didn’t know what else to say, my name is Phury, it’s nice to meet you?

“His name is Phury” Jane offered kindly, thinking about the time when she was introduced to the vampire world. It wasn’t easy and it wouldn’t be now for Lilah especially with everything else going on. 

Lilah said nothing but Jane could see the look of concentration on her face. 

“I can sit up now.” Jane didn’t object and pressed the buttons on the side panel.

Her eyes opened once she was upright and she looked at Butch again. “Can I get more water please?” He rushed to fulfill her request and refilled her cup, “Your name is Butch right?” she asked as she took the cup from him. 

Butch’s  eyes widened when he realized, Phury hadn’t wiped her mind. That’s why the brother had been edgy and irritated. She remembered them from the club.

Butch nodded trying to smile as he took his spot by the wall watching her intently. Vishous didn’t have the patience for this, his latest vision bothered him. What he had seen was infuriating and he didn’t want to think about it right now. He didn’t want to waste more of his or his  _ shellan’s  _ time on this. 

“Let’s get to business.” He growled at the female on the bed. She looked at him, eyes emotionless. He knew people like her, ruthless intellectuals. He didn’t have any sympathy for her.

“You are not going to get a phone, you cannot reach out to anyone outside this compound .”

Her eyes widened immediately. Shocked at the orders being barked at her. The smell of sorrow flooded  Phury’s  senses. 

“I am a prisoner” She stated not asked. It broke  Phury’s  heart. The sad resignation in her voice.

“No, a guest” Butch replied hastily “we have to protect our own and you ,  so you cannot go out or reach the world outside. It's  for your own good ”

She took a slow long drink.

“Who are you? All of  you?”  she whispered not looking up. 

“Not relevant,” V answered. His voice gruff with irritation.  Phury  felt the irritation as well but for another reason. 

“What do you want from me? Why did you bring me here?” 

Before anybody could answer, V groaned and barked “You get five question  human . Five. Pick and choose wisely. After that I start questioning you and if you lie, I will know.”

She looked from  brother  to brother,  Phury  could see the curiosity whirling in her dark intelligent eyes. 

“What are all of you?”

“What do you want from me?”

“What do I have to do to be able to leave?”

“What is your relationship with Edmond?”

“What are you fighting for?”

**Author's Note:**

> Dear Readers,
> 
> I've been reading the BDB series for a long time and recently realized that the reason I stopped reading them was because of how disappointed I was in Phury's story.  
> Here is my own take on what love would like for him, especially if he picked someone who was strong, independent, clever and needed him to save her just the way she would save him.
> 
> Story Plotlines stick to what happened in Lover Enshrined but imagine that the story takes place in 2018 for relevancy and excitement :) 
> 
> I hope to update it every week,  
> Eclairz


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